A Glimpse at Punishments Past

AP

Published: June 9, 1991

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., June 8—
The discovery of jail records dating back more than a century is giving historians a rare glimpse at what was once considered a crime in Massachusetts.

Among the crimes and punishments recorded were a 30-day jail term for a man who allowed "swine to forage in one of Springfield's main streets" and a three-month sentence imposed on a 10-year-old boy for "being a stubborn child."

The records were recently presented to the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum here. The museum's director, Joseph Carvallo, said: "This is one of the first times, if not the first, that such an extensive and comprehensive set of early penal records have been made available to historians. And they are invaluable in the insight they offer to the period."

Most communities threw out old records as new jails were built, he said, or stored them under such poor conditions that they rotted.

Louis Gormally, a local historian, said the 270 volumes, including admission records, doctor's logs and prison industry ledgers, were found in storage areas in the upper floors of the 104-year-old Hampden County jail. Some had been moved from an earlier county jail, he said.

In the 1800's, the records show, most of the prisoners were jailed for drunkenness. Alcohol abuse has since been decriminalized in Massachusetts, but nearly half of the jail's current prisoners have been sentenced for drug abuse, the jail's spokesman, Richard McCarthy, said.

The records show how jailers struggled to cope with unruly children, the mentally ill and the handicapped in a society that had almost no other social services.

In 1853, a pair of 7-year-olds served 60 days for larceny and a 9-year-old boy was sentenced to 30 days for "truancy." In 1854, a 9-year-old boy served six months for vagrancy.